Fire-door.



T. E. COLLINS.

FIRE DOOR. Ar'rLloA'rlon IILBD JAN.19. 1910.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

sraa wranr curios.

THOMAS E. COLLINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-DOOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. COLLINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented an'new and useful Improvement in Fire-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to rolling shutters employed as fire-shutters; and my primary object is to provide improved means for use in connection with rolling shutters, or fire-resisting curtains, to prevent the passage of sparks and flame through or around the hood which contains the roller, or drum.

My invention is illustrated in its preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 represents a broken front elevational view of a section of a fire-wall having a door equipped with a rolling-shutter provided with my improvements, the hood, or drumhousing, being shown partly in section; Fig. 2, a section taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig. 1 and showing the shutter almost completely unrolled; and Fig. 3,'a similar section showing the position of the parts after the complete descent of the shutter.

In the illustrated construction, A represents a fire-wall; B, a door-opening provided with lateral guides B C, a drumhousing, or hood, surmount-ing the dooropening; D, a drum, or roller, journaled in the ends of said housing; E, a rolling shutter, or fire-resisting curtain, suit-ably secured, as at 1, to said drum; and F, an improved shield, or damper, attached to and carriedby the upper portion of said rolling shutter or curtain.

The guides B bounding the door-opening B of the fire-wall A may be of any suitable construction. As shown, said guides have flanges 2 and 3 to afford between them channels 4 for the edge-portions of the curtain. The flanges 3 curve rearwardly at their upper ends, as indicated at 5, and the flanges 2 curve forwardly at their upper ends, as indicated at 6.

aThe housing C has the plain rear wall 7 and the curved front wall 8, which is extended to form the top wall 9 and lower wall 10., At the lower edge of the wall 7 is a forwardly-extending flange 11, and opposite said flange the sheet-metal of the housing is formed into a head 12, thus Specification of Letters Eatent.

PatentedOct. 31, 1911.1

Application filed January 19, 1910. Serial Ho. 538,86 7.

forming the throat 13 of the housing. The flanges 2 and 3 of the guides B form a portion of said throat.

Any suitable means is provided for controlling the movement of the drum 1). Usu ally the drum is suitably counterbalanced and controlled by a device which includes a fusible link adapted to be melted upon a dangerous rise in temperature, thereby to release the drum and permit the -.firecurtain to descend. Such devices are well understood. in the art and need not be illustrated or described in this application.

The fire-curtain E may be of any suitable construction. In the illustration given, it is shown composed of sheet-metal slats 14 joined together by pivotal connections 15. i

The shield, or damper, F preferably comprises a sheet-metal strip 16 which is curved somewhat to conform approximately to the circumference of the drum D. Said strip 16 is preferably attached securely at its upper edge-portion to one of the slats 14 near the attached end of the rolling shutter. As. shown, the upper edge-portion of the shield 16 is secured, by rivets or bolts 17, to one of the slats 14. Said strip 16 is of somewhat flexible and resilient metal and has a flange 18 at itslower edge adapted to bear upon the curved throat portion 19 of the housing, as shown in Fig. 3. Secured to the end-portions of the shield 16 are stops 20 composed of heavier metal than the shield and adapted to engage the curved portions 5 of the flanges 3 of the guides. These stops are adapted to form a secure rest, or support, for the shutter in the event of the yielding of the shield 16 when it engages the curved portion 19 of the housing.

The manner in which the device operates will be readily'understood. In the event of fire, the rolling shutter will automatically drop to the door-closing position, and the shield 16 will engage the curved portion 19 of the housing at the throat thereof, thereby forcing the shutter into engagement with the rear wall of the housing-opening, while the shield will fill or close-the throat in front of the shutter. In the event of. the yielding of the member 16, the stops 20 will engage the portions 5 of the flanges 3, thereby affording secure stops. It will be observed that the construction is such as to afford a substantial support for the metal shutter, or fire-curtain, adapted to aid in preventing the curtain from being injured or'broken loose from the drum, and adapted, also, to support the shutter when the spring becomes weakened by heat. a

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In means of the character set forth, the

combination with a housing having an opening in its lower portion, a roller mounted in said housing, a fire-curtain attached to said roller and extending through said opening, of a yielding sheet-metal member at-- tached to said curtain and adapted to bear upon a wall of said housing adjacent said opening when the curtain is in the lowered oomae I mounted in said hood, of a flexible curtain attached to said roller and extending through said longitudinal opening, a yielding shield attached to said curtain and adapted to engage a wall of said hood adjacent the opening therein, and supplemental stops carried by said curtain and ada ted to engage the upper portions of said guides.

THOMAS E. COLLINS.

In presence of- L. HEISLAR, R. A. RAYMOND. 

